22 December 2015

The
Annual Appeal for the California Genealogical Society has raised 64 percent —
$8,000 — of its $12,500 goal. Please help us reach 100%.

"So
far, 95 members have contributed $8,000. It’s wonderful to see
the large number of donors from our committed membership,” said current
Treasurer Kathie Jones.

Why is
the money needed?

Membership
fees only cover 40% of our operating expenses; most of the rest comes
from special events and tax-deductible donations from members like you.

Kathie
Jones stated, "Real estate in the San Francisco Bay area is incredibly
expensive and as such, our rent (although reasonable by Bay Area standards)
consumes 68% of our budget."

Our
library, with thousands ofvolumes, is one of the premiere
genealogy libraries on the West Coast, and is one of the main reasons that many
of you joined the society.

Jones
became the Treasurer this past year and has enjoyed the challenges of the job,
as well as the camaraderie of her fellow volunteers. "All of our
volunteers tend to wear multiple hats, which contributes to the feeling of
commitment that's apparent whenever you visit our library", she said.

2016
Goals

This
year, the goal was set at $12,500 - $2,500 more than last year’s target to help
us continue offering quality trips and speakers for you.

President
Linda Harms Okazaki sent a letter to all members in November explaining,
"In order to ensure that our society remains a leader in the genealogy
field (in just over 2 years we'll reach our 120th anniversary), your help is
needed."

The
appeal helps support both our library and research services, which in turn has
created our community of committed genealogy volunteers and members.

"We
want to thank those who have already donated, plus get out a reminder that
now's the time to get a 2015 tax-deduction by making a donation before year-end," says
Okazaki.

In 2016
we are hosting a research trip to Washington D.C., in addition to our annual
trip to Salt Lake City and our biennial trip to Boston. Other near-term
goals include hosting nationally and internationally recognized speakers, and
giving back to the genealogy community by participating in indexing projects.

You
make it all possible

Linda
says, “So much has happened over the last few years in the world of genealogy
and yet we’ve continued to move forward, especially in the last year.
Your support and commitment is the cornerstone of our success."